November 2017 Highlights

November is here, and with it comes the beginning of what seems to be officially “holiday season.” Aside from Thanksgiving, our library bookclub also uses this month as an excuse to host a “Friendsgiving” themed get-together. Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like: Thanksgiving 2.0 but with tons of book talk added in for good measure! Here are a few of the books that Kate and I will likely be discussing!

Serena’s Picks:

Book: “City of Brass” by S. A. Chakraborty

Publication Date: November 14, 2017

Why I’m Interested: This book is being compared to “The Golem and the Jinni,” which is one of my favorite historical fantasy novels. Plus, it’s set in the late 1700s in the Middle East, which isn’t the setting of most historical fantasy you find. Add to that a story description of a young woman who has grown up as a con artist on the streets of Cairo only to discover a new and complicated history and world lurking behind the scenes, and you have a sure fire “must read” for me! While there have been a few YA Middle Eastern fantasy novels making their rounds over the last several years, I have yet to find one that fully takes advantages of the uniqueness of this region’s history and folklore. I’m excited to see if this one finally makes the leap!

Book: “Oathbringer” by Brandon Sanderson

Publication Date: November 14, 2017

Why I’m Interested: Brandon Sanderson is one of my all-time favorite authors and one of the few whose books I will always pre-order. The guy is also a crazy fast writer, which is awesome as there is almost always a new story to look forward to from him each year. Sometimes we even get two! This is even more noteworthy for his “Stormlight Archive” epic fantasy saga series. Each of these books are big time door stops. I think I read from Tor Publishing that his last book in this series was literally the largest book their machines could possibly bind. “Oathbringer” is the third in this series, and I’m both excited and intimidated to jump back into this complicated word. I feel like I need to go re-read the last two books to prepare…but that’s like a 1800 page time commitment! Challenge accepted!

Book: “City of Lies” by Victoria Thompson

Publication Date: November 7, 2017

Why I’m Interested: I’m always on the lookout for historical fiction, and as we’ve already seen in this very list, books that feature female con artists always catch my eye. This book features Elizabeth Miles, a con artist and trickster living on the edge of society in the early 20th century. After a con goes bad, she finds herself caught up among a group of women protesting within the Suffrage movement. Here she finds friendship and maybe even love with the son of one leading ladies of this movement. I know that Victoria Thompson has a long-running gaslamp mystery series, but somehow I’ve never read any of her books. I’m hopeful that this book will serve as a great introduction to a new author and new series!

Kate’s Picks:

Book: “Into the Drowning Deep” by Mira Grant

Publication Date: November 14th, 2017

Why I’m Interested: I like Mira Grant’s “Newsflesh” series quite a bit, as I think she’s very good at creating some very fun and original horror narratives. And one of my biggest horror squicks is the deep deep sea. So I’m totally going to dive into this book that involves a film crew that went missing when on the job in the Mariana Trench, and the crew that is assembled after them to try and find out what happened to them. I’m sure that they are going to find some really upsetting things, and if the characters are as likable and intrepid as those in the “Newsflesh” series, I will no doubt have found another horror book that scares as much as it entertains.

Book: “Artemis” by Andy Weir

Publication Date: November 14th, 2017

Why I’m Interested: Perhaps you are thinking to yourself “Well I thought Kate wasn’t that big into Sci-Fi!” And yeah, you’re right. But I really, really liked “The Martian”, Andy Weir’d previous novel, and so I feel like I really oughta give “Artemis” a shot, even if it’s not usually my genre. This story takes place in a more distant future, and concerns a smuggler named Jazz who finds herself in a heist and conspiracy story involving Artemis, the first colony on the moon. It sounds like a really fun concept and a potentially flashy adventure. If Weir brings the same amount of heart and humor to this story as he did “The Martian”, I’m sure that I will enjoy it.

Book: “Batwoman (Vol.1): The Many Arms of Death” by Marguerite Bennett and James Tynion IV.

Publication Date: November 21st, 2017

Why I’m Interested: While I liked that Batwoman got her own comic series in The New 52, I found myself quite bored with how it was going, and quit after Volume 2. But given that Marguerite Bennett of “DC Bombshells” fame is taking the helm on this one (with James Tynion IV), I have reason to be excited! While I know that this surely won’t have the same bubblegum and fun tone that “DC Bombshells” has, I do trust Bennett to give new life to Batwoman in the Rebirth series!